A Story Worth Telling
by MaleficMistress
Summary: A dying man manages to survive an intense battle, only to be confronted by the infamous Jashin in physical form. Hear the tale of where the faith originally began, and how Jashin firsts presents himself to a mortal. All reviews are appreciated, please give me your thoughts, good or bad )


Countless blades of grass were stained crimson, with the blood of a thousand shinobi. Their bodies, twisted and horribly mangled, from the battle that had ensued earlier between the Senju and the Uchiha. However, one source of life was left on the battlefield. A very thin strand of life, but none the less, one man's pulse was clinging with every ounce of strength he had left.

Crawling on his stomach from his wound, the nameless shinobi had managed to pull his body out of the depths of the carnage. Each breath, every movement, his body flinched and screamed in agony, the blood simulating the tears in which his body shed. He was dying, and he knew it, but that was okay. He had done what every good shinobi wished to do as or before they died. Fight. At least he thought so. He had no clan, no family, and no friends. This was not his war and yet he had fought. Chosen a side at random, and battled amongst them for his passion of destruction. The life of other men meant little to him and fighting was the one thing that drove him. It had been his guide his entire life.

Hours could have stretched on for all he knew, but he had managed to somehow wriggle his way out of the sea of red, and into the forest floor. If he could find a way to live, he would, but he would only resist death for so long before the darkness would take him forever. The dark, exhausted eyes lifted up to try and figure out his next move, but instead of being met with empty terrain, a shapeless figure was standing a ways off from him.

His eyes narrowed and searched the figure, trying to decide if his mind was playing tricks on him with the shadows, or if it was real. It was large, and dark, barely seeming to come into his fading vision at all. Dusk had fallen over the trees, making it even more difficult for his eyes to make anything out. It seemed however that the figure was starting to take shape as it began to move closer to him. He could make out the shape of some large animal, four legs padding across the dirt softly...in fact, silently. He couldn't make any sound out at all, even as it approached him closer.

His pulse began to speed up however when he noted just what shape this was. A feline. A predator. Great, and he was already bleeding and his chakra, totally drained. Glaring at the cat as it approached at a slow walk, he could finally make out the orange fur, the usual abstract form of black stripes covering it's body. Only something more caught his eye. Around the tiger's body, a large, tattered, black cloak was draped over it's back and shoulders, falling down just past it's stomach. A silver clasp could be seen around the front of the tiger's chest, pinning the cloak in place. But it was strange. The clasp was in the shape of a circle, with an upside down triangle filling the empty space inside of it. A shiver raced up the shinobi's spine when the head of the beast could finally be seen clearly, the shadows seeming to part for the cat like a curtain.

The intelligent eyes were glowing a vibrant shade of red, the gaze almost staring through the nervous man. Around the head alone, the fur and muscle had been stripped away completely, leaving nothing but bare bone, giving the beast a more fearsome appearance. Now that the tiger was literally within ten feet of the shinobi, he could make out large scars around most of the cats body were the cloak didn't cover. The thought that this creature could be a summon, briefly crossed the shinobi's mind, but then he reasoned just who would summon such an animal? Had an Uchiha discovered that he was alive? Was this how he would die? How embarrassing! How insulting! He had done battle alongside one of two of the strongest clans on the planet, and he would go out by an animal!? Not if he could help it.

He drug his arms along the ground painfully, pushing his upper half off of the dirt, a scowl forming across his face. He wouldn't go like this. He would kill this tiger with his bare hands if he had to, but he would not die at the claws and fangs of a beast! He was better than that! Just as he had gathered the energy to push himself to his feet however, he paused in his crouch hearing a deep chuckle booming from what he could have sworn was the tiger.

He narrowed his eyes and glanced around behind where the tiger was standing but saw or sensed no one. Looking again at the creature, he noticed it had been still this entire time, and along it's jaws...was it smirking at him? The teeth and jaw had been stretched back at some off angle resembling a smirk...or perhaps he was mad? People had said before in his life that he was nothing more than a raving madman so perhaps this was proof?

His questions and suspicions were halted however when the jaws moved, words actually forming from the animals mouth. "Be still mortal...I come bearing praise and proposition to you."

The shinobi's breath caught, and he collapsed from his crouch, his body spilling on the ground in a heavy heap. With the rush of adrenaline gone now, there was nothing to help him move should he have to, his life was seeming to vaporize in front of him and there was nothing he could do to stop it. Now he got to listen to a tiger's praise and offering's of something to what might as well be a dead man...might as well humor him.

"A fine time you pick for gifts, beast. Pray tell?" Just what did a talking tiger have to offer him when he was seconds away from scumming to eternal slumber?

A second chuckle rumbled from the beasts chest as the rump dropped down to a sitting position. "I'd show a bit more gratitude human. Your passion for bloodshed did not go unnoticed. Because of this, you are the first mortal I believe, is capable of carrying out my commandments."

The shinobi laughed a humorless laugh, his lips spreading in a crazed grin. "I'm afraid you've arrived a little late. In case you weren't aware, I don't have much longer to live." Just what the hell kind of joke was this? A proposition to carry out commandments for a cat?!

A larger grin spread across the tiger's jaws as it rose back onto all four paws. "I have, and I can save you. If I do, you'll listen, and do as I command. What do you say human? Obey or die, choose quickly."

The shinobi's eyes refocused onto the tiger's face. Could he really save him? Yes he wanted to live but could this creature really save his life? How? It was a tiger! Gods above...perhaps it couldn't hurt anything. Besides, if he could save him, just how bad would it be to do a few favors for a tiger? His head bobbed up and down slowly in agreement, his fingers clenching and digging in the dirt. "Yes." The tone was weaker, and much quieter than he had intended. "Yes, I'll do what you want."

Seeming satisfied, the tiger closed the space between him and the man in one large bound, it's imposing body now looming over him. In one swift motion with it's front two paws, the claws extended to grip the man's shoulders, and twisted heavily to one side, flipping the downed man onto his back. The shinobi grunted heavily as a dull, throbbing pain traveled up his spine, his head pounding as he could almost feel the blood flow starting to come to a complete stop. Spreading it's jaws widely, the tiger exhaled deeply. From inside of it's mouth, a thick, greenly tinted smog was released, spreading across the shinobi's face and evaporating into the air.

The odor was foul, making the shinobi wheeze and cough, but his cough was strong. His breath, once a gasp for air, now full and powerful as he inhaled sharply, rolling over onto his side, still trapped between the tigers paws. He coughed and sputtered once more as new life seemed to fill him to the brim. What was this? Had...had this tiger truly saved him. He glanced down at his body, and was shocked to see the same wounds still covering him. The bleeding had not stopped, and he still felt weak, but he was alive and stronger than a few seconds ago. Why?

Turing his head to look at the looming tiger, his brow twisted in confusion. "What have you done? How...why?!" As the tiger stepped to the side to allow the man to sit up, the shinobi stared at him in question, demanding answers. "What the hell are you?"

The tiger, once again dropped his rump to the ground to sit, obviously having prepared for the long winded speech. "My name mortal, is Jashin. I am one of the many Gods that control parts of your world, though I am somewhat different in my opinions and ways than most Gods you've heard of."

The man's eyes narrowed. This was a God? A true God in the flesh, sitting before him, having granted him life. "What's happened to me, I-I'm still bleeding, how am I alive? Why did you come here to me? What...what do you want?" So many questions were starting to fill the unstable man's head, and his hands started to itch for his kunai knives, but he knew that to do something that rash would be foolish.

The tiger's gaze was cold, but patient as he explained himself calmly. "You're still bleeding because your wounds have not yet healed over," he began. The tone was patronizing as if speaking to a small confused child. Staring at the man to make certain he had his attention, he continued. "What has happened to you, is that I have granted you the gift of eternal life, that is also how you are alive. I came to you, to grant you this gift so that you can do me a few simple tasks. Are you following me so far human? Don't want this to go over your poor, fragile, little mind."

The shinobi glared hatefully at the question. Okay, now this Jashin was going to talk to him like he was nothing more than a simple minded fool? God or not, he would accept that! Then again...this God did just grant him...did he just say _eternal_ life? That thought alone made him hold the less pleasant side of his tongue. Nodding his head simply he replied with an abrupt yes.

Satisfied that at least this human was smart enough not to speak back to him, Jashin continued. "Good. What I want from you is a simple list of tasks. Nothing that should seem like too much work from you. Bloodshed is one of many things we will probably agree on. Total destruction, chaos, genocide, ec cetera. You do this for me, with all of your heart and soul, offer me some of your more worthy opponents, then you may keep your gift. You see, you are the first mortal I have revealed myself to. No others think along the same lines as you. I want that changed. I want you to find or even create more like yourself...share with them your experience. Tell them of me. I want the world to know about me. If you must, use your gift as persuasion. What man wouldn't give their loyalties for the gift of immortality?"

Standing back up on all four paws, Jashin stalked around to one side of the man, the wide eyes following him. Studying them a second time, he did note that he could see no fear in the eyes. Just excitement. The shinobi's body was tense and shaking, his fingers seeming to flex and curl. Well, he had definitely found an attentive one. It took a moment but the shinobi finally responded to him, the voice quick and sharp. It seemed that he was unable to hide just how overpowering this was. "Jashin-sama...I'll do it. If that's all I have to do...hell I do that everyday as long as I can anyway. I swear to you, I'll spread your name across these lands like an Uchiha's wild fire! I'll find more to follow you, I swear! There has to be more men out there like me, men who would want to follow you. Hell even if their aren't, you're right! I can tempt them with my gift! I can prove it to them if they call my bluff!With this, I can continue to fight and never again have to worry if I'll come back out of a battle. I- I can fight for the rest of my life!"

The ramblings and ravings continued much to Jashin's surprise. It wasn't really as unpleasant as it was just unexpected. Though he had to say, frantic humans were not his favorite to deal with. He had expected it to have to take more time to sink into the fragile brain, maybe even time just to decipher if everything the man had experienced was even reality or not. Humans had a strange habit of questioning if something out of the ordinary was even real. This man however was very different. He had seized the opportunity at once and seemed to be running with ideas. Jashin then wondered if the poor human would cause his own brain to burst. At this rate it just might be possible.

Growling deeply and giving a loud, sharp roar to gain the man's attention, Jashin stretched out a large paw and clawed the man's arm. "Silence! Control yourself and be gone, you know what I want now go do it. I'll return to you should I see fit and do _not_ fail me. Should you do so, I will take your life as quickly as I gave it."

The shinobi had indeed hushed his mouth, but latched his hand around his now injured arm. This God had a bit of a temper it seemed. Then again, he had gotten pretty carried away with himself. Hearing what sounded like the final command, the shinobi nodded his head once and turned away from the tiger, rushing off into the forest in a directionless sprint. He wasn't sure where to start first, but he would have to find someone he knew personally to tell this to. This was an event that could very well change the ways and views of a lot of men. He would have to find a way to contact this God again however. He wanted to learn what he could from him about everything he would want from his subordinates. He perhaps would even record them down over time, something to pass along to each generation so he wouldn't have to simply retell his story for the rest of his life. He could feel the eyes boring into his back as he retreated as quickly as he could, but a source of fear stopped him from turning over his shoulder. The God was imposing but after granting him such a gift, he couldn't bring himself to feel offended or even resentful. He even found himself wishing he had asked more questions but it seemed that there would be plenty of time for that.


End file.
